Want to Play Catch?
by FairieDust
Summary: After OotP. When a seemingly normal Potions class goes wrong, Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Draco are turned into six years olds. Oh, the horror!
1. Potions Gone Wrong

Disclaimer: None of the characters that you recognize are mine. They belong to J K Rowling and not me. 

Author's Note: Hi! This is my second Harry Potter fanfic and hopefully I'll finish this one faster than the first. My first "Lives Untold" is not completely dead but it's hard to write a story you no longer are passionate about. To read this, you should have read OotP but it is not required 

"Want to Play Catch?"

Part One

"I can't believe it! We have double potions with the Slytherins _again_!"

Hermione Granger raised an eyebrow at Ron Weasley, who, after his rather vocal outburst, had buried his head into his hands.  

"Well, it's not exactly a surprise, is it?" Hermione queried as she took a bite of her toast with Red Raspberry jam.  "We've suffered through Potions with them for the past five years. Why would this one be any different?" It was the first day after summer of thier Sixth Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and besides battling Lord Voldermort, they were cursed with the wrath of Draco Malfoy and all his Slytherin cronies year after year.

Ron shrugged and reached for the scrambled eggs. "I just thought they would take pity on us."

"They?" Harry Potter, the remaining member of the Fantastic Trio asked curiously.

"You know," Ron said waving his arm about. "The evil schedule maker."

"Otherwise known as Dumbledore?" Harry asked. Harry couldn't express into words how relieved he was that Dumbledore was back to being the Headmaster of Hogwarts. He shuttered whenever he thought of Umbridge and her Educational Decrees. 

"Does he make the schedules?" Hermione asked. "Or does he get someone else to do it?"

That question would have to remain a mystery as Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas arrived at the Gryffindor table, Dean's arm lazily relaxed around none other than Ginny Weasley.

"Thomas," Ron said harshly, glaring furiously at the offending arm. 

"Weasley," Dean replied in the same tone and actually tightened his grip on Ginny's shoulders. The two Gryffindors regarded each other, neither blinking for several moments until Ginny sighed in exasperation. 

"Hello! Will you stop glaring at each other like that! It's not like you staring at each other will do anything. Ron, just accept the fact that I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions regarding who I date and so forth and don't go all big-brother-protective mode on me, okay?" Ginny said while taking a seat.

"Fine. I'll let it go this time, Thomas," Ron said as if he was doing him a huge favor. 

Dean rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Oh, thank you! How can I ever repay you?" He asked dryly. 

"You could stop dating my sister," Ron suggested.

"Ron!" This time it was Ginny, Hermione, and Harry who reprimanded him.

"Okay! Okay! Sorry. It was just a suggestion," Ron muttered as he stabbed his eggs with his fork. 

*           *           *           *           *

"Quiet down class."

Professor Snape's monotonous voice drifted across the Potion's classroom, quieting an already silent group of students. 

"Today we will be making a simple Youth Defining Potion. The ingredients are on the board. Get into group of three and get to work." With that, the students clamored to pair up and collect the ten ingredients elaborately sprawled out on the blackboard. 

"Ok. Harry, get the first three, Ron, the middle three and I'll get the last four. Go!" Hermione commanded and then went to the store cupboard herself to get her designated supplies. 

"All right," Hermione began when they had regrouped. "It says to carefully mix the first half of the Wolfs Bane with 12 Beetle Eyes and then add the rest of the Wolfs Bane. We wait exactly twenty seconds before adding Daisy Roots and Monkshood. We stir in the remaining ingredients and finally add three drops of Essence of Belladonna."

"And what is this potion supposed to do?" Ron asked while sorting the ingredients

"It's supposed to make us recall several childhood memories in quick succession. It seems that no memory is off-limits. Good, bad, forgotten, they all can resurface."

"Lovely," Harry muttered darkly.

Hermione and Ron exchanged a Look. 

"Er, Harry, look – " Ron was cut off, however, by Harry speaking over him.

"So lets add this stuff now." 

Twenty minutes later, they were just about done when trouble happened. 

"Oh, look. It's Harry the Hero and his amazing sidekicks," a sarcastic voice said from the side.

"What do you want, Malfoy? Harry asked through clenched teeth. 

"Oh, nothing. Just to see how your potion is coming along," Malfoy said with a sneer.

"It's bloody fantastic. Now go crawl back from whatever hole you came from," Ron said rather loudly.

"That hurt. Really."

"Just ignore him," Hermione said, trying to keep the peace. "Here. Add the Belladonna. Remember, only three drops so be careful."

It was that moment that a series of unrelated events intertwined to cause the disaster that was about to occur. Hermione was stretching her arms, Belladonna in hand, to give to Ron. Malfoy took a step closer, mouth opening to give some retort to the effect of, "So, Hermione has to tell you exactly what to do, eh, Weasley." Harry was turning on his heel and stumbled slightly forward. No one knew the precise cause or who bumped whom, but what transpired resulted in the vial of Belladonna being dumped, in its entirety into the brewing potion. The recipe called for three drops. Three hundred fell in.

Hermione was the first to realize what occurred. She parted her lips to call for Professor Snape when a huge _BOOM_ was heard as their potion bubbled over and sort of exploded. Several of the girls, including Lavender, Parvati, and Pansy, shrieked in terror and hid under their table.

"Quiet!" Professor Snape thundered. "What imbecile caused this disturbance?" No one made a peep so he stomped over to the settling cloud of light green gas that had appeared from Hermione, Ron, and Harry's cauldron.

"Potter! Weasley! Granger! What is the meaning of this?" Snape yelled.

The cloud finally cleared and the entire class took a collective breath. Some rubbed their eyes, some cleaned their glasses, and others pinched their arms. Even Professor Snape looked shocked.

Where Sixth Years Harry, Hermione, Ron and Draco had once stood, six-year-old Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Draco sat. 

~

Ok, so what did you think? Drop me a line! Please Review for me!!! 


	2. Chocolate Frogs

Disclaimer: None of the characters that you recognize are mine. They belong to J K Rowling and not me. 

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for your kind reviews! For my last story I got three reviews for Chapter One. Today I got seventeen so thanks! 

"Want to Play Catch?"

Chapter Two

The four children looked innocent enough. 

Little Harry was very small and skinny with huge green eyes framed by thick black eyelashes that would get him out of any trouble. Well, out of any trouble by anyone besides his aunt and uncle of course. Little Ron had adorable tousled bright red hair and more freckles than he did at fifteen and cheeks that begged to be pinched. Little Hermione had fluffy chestnut locks currently in pigtails that made her cute as a button. And Draco looked like a little angel, with his blonde hair and blue-gray eyes and his blonde hair in his blue-gray eyes. 

Professor Snape and his class looked in shock at the little people that had magically taken the place of the not as adorable former Hogwarts students. 

"What have you done?" Professor Snape demanded harshly. That was all it took to start them off.

"Who are you?"

"Where am I?

"I want my mum!"

"When my Father finds about that you wizard-napped me, you're gonna be in trouble!"

"Can I brew a potion?"

"Is that a book?"

"Is this a school?"

"Can we play a game?"

"Yeah! Let's play catch with this old bottle!" The last statement was little Ron who proceeded to throw the "old bottle" which in actuality was a vial containing eye of newt to Harry, who missed the catch and the vial smashed into a million pieces on the floor. Professor Snape was a tab bit upset.

"SILENCE! If any one of you makes so much as a peep, I'll throw you in the dungeon!" Professor Snape threatened with an angry glint in his eyes.

Then the waterworks began.

"I –" Sniffle "-just want –" Sniffle "-to go home!" Hermione cried and the crying and screaming and pleas and demands from the youngsters could be heard across the school. 

"Umm, Professor Snape?" Seamus raised his hand. "Aren't we in a dungeon?"

The cries ceased. 

"Ten points from Gryffindor for contradicting my authority! And I'll lock you four up right now until we figure out what you have done. I'm sure you three," Snape continued, looking at Harry, Hermione, and Ron's tear-stained faces, "will be expelled for such careless use of magic and endangering others lives." Snape nodded at Draco, who had not been crying, simply screaming that his father would cut anyone up into miniscule pieces if they dare touch his son. The three young Gryffindors found this an ideal time to resume their cries.

"Trouble, Severus?" A joyful voice asked. Everyone looked toward the door and saw Headmaster Dumbledore smiling at them near the entryway. 

"It seems that Potter, Weasley, and Granger managed to turn themselves and Draco into two-year olds."

"I'm six!" Hermione shouted.

"Me too!" The boys chorused. "I'm going to be seven next month," Draco bragged.

"So? My brother let me fly on a broom with him for my birthday!" Ron yelled.

Little Draco smirked. "So? I _own_ my own broom!"

"So? My – " Ron's comeback was silenced by Dumbledore touching his shoulder. 

"That's quite enough, Mr. Weasley," he said kindly.

"I think we'll take a trip to my office, okay?"

*           *           *           *           *

"Would you like a Chocolate Frog?" Dumbledore asked when they got to his office.

Ron and Draco dove towards one and naturally, of the thirty Chocolate Frogs in the basket, they each wanted the same one.

"I had it first!" Ron yelled, his face turning red from anger.

"No, I did!

"No, I did!!!"

"Please, children. There are more than enough," Dumbledore said. "And what about you two?"

Hermione shook her head. "Sorry but my mum and dad say not to eat sweets. And even if I did, I don't like frog legs so I doubt I'd like a whole frog in chocolate. But thank you for the offer." Harry simply shook his head, looking strangely at Ron who was starting on his second already.

"Well," Dumbledore said seriously. "It seems we are in quite a predicament. You obviously do not belong here just yet. You are not six-year old, but rather about sixteen. We need to fix this."

Hermione raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"My mum will be very worried about me. I was in the middle of my piano recital when I found myself here. Where is here, anyway?" she asked.

"Here is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Dumbledore explained. 

"Wow! My brothers go here! Can I see them?" Ron asked and jumped from his chair.

Dumbledore smiled. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Weasley. They have long since graduated. We are ten years in the future. I know it's difficult to understand but- "

Just then Professor Snape came into the office. "Sorry, sir," he said. "But I need to tell you that there is no antidote." 

The crying started up again and this time Draco joined in.

~

Well? Please Review and tell me what you think! Thanks!  


	3. Broken Wands

Disclaimer: None of the characters that you recognize are mine. They belong to Ms. J K Rowling and not to me.

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone that read and/or reviewed this fic! I'll try to update as often as possible so it may be everyday or once a week!

Acknowledgments: Thanks to Dusty D, my new Beta Reader! You beta read this so fast and gave so many great suggestions! Thank you!     

Want to Play Catch?

Chapter 3

"I don't wanna be old any more!" Little Ron wailed.

"Change me back!" Draco screamed.

Professor Snape looked slightly taken aback at the sudden mood change of the children. "Uh, let me rephrase," he began.

The crying stopped and the only sound heard was the kids sniffling once and a while.

"There is no antidote," he repeated and held up his hand as the chins began to wobble and the eyes began to tear. "But, the spell will wear off. You will turn into your normal selves in two to four weeks."

The tears forgotten, the children decided to yell in relief instead.

"Yay! I'm cured!" Ron cheered.

"I can go back to my house!" Hermione said, dancing around.

"Excuse me," Little Harry said softly, tugging at Dumbledore's robes. He was by far the quietest of the four. "But my Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia will be angry with me if I'm not there to set the table for dinner."

Dumbledore looked down at Harry, a little sadness in his eyes. "Not to fear, Harry. You will be returned intact with no time lost from when you left. This is correct, Severus?" He asked, looking at the Potions Master.

Snape swiftly nodded his head.

"So you see, Hermione, you will be returned right in the middle of your piano recital. And you Harry, will be home in plenty of time for dinner," Dumbledore said, patting Harry on the shoulder.

"Will we remember any of this?" Hermione questioned. "Being here, I mean?"

"No, you will not," Snape answered. 

"So, what are we going to do for two to four weeks?" Draco questioned, lazily leaning back in his high black chair and making a move to put his tiny size two feet on Dumbledore's desk.

"Think carefully before you make that move, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore cautioned.

Draco thought for a moment and looked as if he was about to lay his feet on the oak tabletop anyway before placing them on the floor where they belonged. 

"Excellent move, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said with a smile. "And to answer your question, we'll keep you occupied here in the castle. You can attend a class, maybe fly with a student on a broom, and fill up on all the sweets you want. I guarantee these weeks will fly by and you will find yourself in familiar surroundings in no time."

By this time, the children had grown rather bored of Dumbledore's speech and were anxiously looking around for something to amuse themselves with. 

"Would you like to go see a class now? I believe you are supposed to be with Professor McGonagall for Transfiguration," Dumbledore suggested, sensing their restlessness.

"Yeah!" Hermione agreed, her eyes bright. "I would love to learn all I can while I'm here."

"I don't know," Ron said slowly. "Can't we play with the brooms?"

"Can you really fly on a broom?" Harry asked in awe.

"Yes, it's fantastic!" Draco said, eager to input something. "I've been flying since I was three."

"Can we go flying?" Ron pleaded. 

"After the class you may," Dumbledore said, looking at Hermione's look of disappointment about missing the class. "Trust me, you will get to try anything you want during your stay. I really think you should go to Professor McGonagall now so she can Transfigure your robes to fit you."

The children's robes were the same ones from when they were older and were many sizes to large on the youngsters. 

"Oh, okay," Ron said, exhaling loudly. "If we must."

"Good. Before you go, I must caution you. Under no circumstances are any of you to leave this castle. There are some bad people out there who, if they knew what condition you were in, would take full advantage of that. You are safe as long as you are here so please, don't set foot outside these walls. Understand?" Dumbledore was in particular looking at Harry and nodded in acceptance when Harry said "I understand."

"Also, I know you, Ron and Draco, know about using owls to send letters to your family. You are not permitted to send anything telling about your condition as of yet. I don't want to letters falling into the wrong hands." Ron and Draco nodded while Hermione and Harry just looked at each other and shrugged.

"Thank you. Now, Professor Snape, would you pleases escort our guest to Professor McGonagall?" Dumbledore requested.

Snape looked with distaste at the four pairs of eyes staring at him. "As you wish," he said, clearly wishing he was elsewhere. "Come along, children. Keep up with me."

The kids had to practically run all the way to McGonagall's classroom to keep up with Snape's quick pace. "Here you go, Professor McGonagall," Snape said as he opened the door to her room. "These children will be with you."

"Oh my!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "Whatever happened?" She asked as she recognized three of her own House students and Draco Malfoy.

"They had an accident with their potion," Snape said dryly. "They'll turn back in two to four weeks. Good day," he said, quickly turning on his heel and leaving the doorway.

The class was silent once again as they saw their classmates as miniature replicas of the students they knew. 

"Wow! Is that a wand?" The silence was broken by Hermione's look of astonishment at Lavender's wand that dangled from her relaxed hand. 

"Can we do magic?" Ron asked.

"Yeah! That guy said we could do whatever we wanted as long as we're here," Draco said making as to take Parvati's wand from her.

"Now, now," Professor McGonagall said, getting her voice back after the shook of seeing her students so different. "You can watch. Look, I'll make those robes of yours smaller."

"Me first!" Ron said rushing up to the Professor.

"No way! She was talking to me," Draco exclaimed.

"I'll do Harry's and then Hermione's because they haven't fought," Professor McGonagall said reasonably. The four students watched in awe as she made all their robes their perfect size.

"Wow! I'm not tripping over them anymore!" Hermione said giddily. 

"We'll have so much fun here!" Harry said, getting excited about the prospect of making actual friends and getting away from his horrid aunt and uncle. 

"Yeah! Let me try to change something!" Ron said.

"No me!" Draco said and this time he took Neville's wand from his desk.

"Give it here!" Ron yelled.

And then they both proceeded to yank on the wand furiously. 

"It's mine," Draco said through clenched teeth.

"No. It's. Not. "Ron yelled back.

A loud _CRACK_ was heard and both boys fell backwards, each with a piece of Neville's wand. They had broken it in half.

"Good grief," McGonagall said. "This is going to be a long month,"

~

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	4. Flying Lesson

Disclaimer: None of the characters that you recognize are mine. They belong to Ms. J K Rowling and not to me.

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone that read and/or reviewed this fic! And thanks to Dusty D, my beta reader

Want to Play Catch?

Chapter 4

"Vroooom!"

Little Ron was currently running around the Quidditch pitch with a broom between his legs, making flying noises as he tried to lift off the ground.

"Mr. Weasley! Please come back!" Madam Hooch shouted, chasing behind the six-year-old. 

Ron gradually slowed down and looked inquiringly at the flying instructor. "Why?" he asked, his blue eyes huge.

"Wait until the students are here to fly with you," she puffed out, tired from running after him.

"Why do I have to wait?" Draco whined, coming up to the pair. "I know how to fly."

"I'd prefer you all fly with an experienced Quidditch player," Madam Hooch responded. "Now, no more complaints. I'd sick of hearing about how you already know how to fly, Mr. Malfoy. We are all beginners today, okay?"

"Fine," Draco said with an exaggerated sigh.

"Good," Madam Hooch said with a nod and noticed Hermione and Harry standing quietly together, holding their brooms uncertainly. 

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, please come join us," she yelled, beckoning with her arms. She waited until the two came up to her and smiled at them gently.

"Don't be nervous. Flying is very safe and I assure you that you'll have a great time," Madam Hooch said. "The students I've picked to fly with you are much more skilled in the air than they are with telling time. I was sure I told them to come right – Oh! Here they are!" Madam Hooch waited until Ginny Weasley, Cho Chang, Andrew Kirke, and Jack Sloper met them in the middle of the field. 

Ginny stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Ron.

"Ron?" she practically squeaked. "I can't believe it."

"Who are – Ginny?" Ron asked, his look of confusion disappearing. "Wow, you're old."

"And you're a squirt," she said with a smile. "I can't believe it."

"You already said that," Hermione informed Ginny.

Ginny's eyes went from Ron to Hermione to Draco to Harry. "You're all so..so.. _little_!" she exclaimed. 

"Can we fly now?" Draco said, clearly bored with Ginny's wonderment. 

"Yes, yes. My, you're an impatient one, Mr. Malfoy," Madam Hooch answered. "Ginny, I suppose you can pair up with Ron. Cho, you go with Hermione. Andrew take Draco and Jack, you're with Harry. I'll be here supervising."

The children, some more eager than others, got on behind their elder and took off.

                                                                                    *                       *                       *                       *                       *

"Wow, that was amazing!" Little Harry said as he collapsed in a chair in the Gryffindor Common Room. "I wish I could fly all day."

"I told you it was the best," Ron said smugly. 

"I didn't think it was the best," Hermione announced.

Harry, Ron, and Draco looked at her like she'd grown a second head.

"I don't mean that it wasn't fun," Hermione explained hastily. "Because it was. But I don't think it's the greatest thing on earth. I'd be just as happy with a copy of Roald Dahl's Matilda and a cup of hot cocoa."

The boys were quiet for a few seconds. 

"You're weird," Ron said turning up his nose. "Who wants to read when you can go play outside?" he asked, making a face as he said the word 'read.'

"Those of us who want to go to Oxford and become successful read at every chance we get," Hermione responded, turning _her_ nose up at him.

 "What's Oxford?" Ron asked, confused. 

Hermione tisked. "Obviously if you don't even know what it is, you won't be going there."

"You don't want to go there, Weasley. It's full of disgusting Muggles," Draco said, venom clearly heard in his voice.

"What's a – " Harry's question was cut off as the Common Room became alive with chatting that stopped once the students got a glimpse of the kids.

"See," Ginny said loudly. "I told you they were little." All her Fifth Year peers were crowding around the youngsters as if they were on exhibit.

"Move out of the way," Seamus yelled as the Sixth Years entered. "Give them some room to breathe. Haven't you people ever seen kids before?"

"Not these kids," a Fifth Year answered. "And what's a Slytherin doing in the Gryffindor Common Room?"

"Madam Hooch said Dumbledore wants them to stay together," Ginny responded. 

"Well, it's almost time for dinner," Lavender noted. "Hermione, do you want to come with Parvati and me to get freshened up?"

Hermione looked at Ginny who nodded affirmatively to her. "Okay," Hermione said as she stood up and took Lavender's extended hand. She took one last look at Harry, Ron, and Draco before going up the stairs.

"Do you boys want to get cleaned up before dinner?" Dean offered. By this time, most of the students had gotten over the shock at seeing four midget-sized people at their school that weren't First Years, and had scattered about to their rooms. 

The boys looked at one another and collectively said "No," ending all attempts to clean them up. 

"Let's play a game!" Ron shouted.

"Like what?" Harry asked quietly. He didn't want to make too much noise to disturb all the people.

"How about a game of Exploding Snap?" Draco lazily asked.

"Sure!" Ron said. "Here, Harry, we'll show you how to play."

Harry smiled. "Okay, thanks." He couldn't believe his good fortune in meeting three new friends today. When the two weeks were up, he worried that he would never want to leave this place to go back to Privet Drive. 

~

Thanks for reading! Tell me what you think!


	5. Oops!

Disclaimer: The characters that you recognize are not mine and belong to Ms. J K Rowling.

Author's Note: Thanks to all my great reviewers and readers! Thanks to my two beta readers – Dusty D and SilmeUndomiel. I couldn't have done it without you! :)

Want to Play Catch?

Chapter 5

"Guess what!"

Little Hermione rushed into the Gryffindor Common Room, her fluffy hair a bit more wild than usual and her mocha eyes sparkling.

"What?" The three pint-sized students inquired, looking up from their twelfth game of Exploding Snap. It had already been twenty-four hours since their transformation and the four of them were finally settling in.

"I got a perfect score on my Arithmancy work!" She exclaimed, beaming at them.

"Wow," Ron said, his eyes widening. "I can't believe any teacher would be mean enough to give you work to do in class."

Hermione's smile faded. "Well, actually, I… you see… I insisted on doing the work. Professor Vector would hear nothing of it until I wouldn't stop asking her."

"Oh," Ron said, turning back around. "She's mental," he whispered to Draco and Harry. Harry looked up at Hermione and saw that look of 

loneliness he had been all too accustomed to in the past five years. A wave of shame immediately washed over him. They hadn't given Hermione a fair chance. So what if she was a bit obsessed with books and school? Ron was just as passionate about Quiddich, but he wasn't isolated. 

"Er – Hermione?" Harry began. "I think it's really great that you did so well in class today." 

"Really?" She asked, her smile returning. Harry stared at her teeth. _Honestly_, he thought. _How can they be _so_ white?_

"Yeah. I mean, I wish I went to class today too, instead of playing around all day," he said, crossing his fingers behind his back. 

"Oh, you should have!" Hermione exclaimed, settling down next to him on the floor. "I learned loads of new stuff! I can't wait until I go here for real."

"You shouldn't be allowed in," Draco said coldly, speaking up for the first time since she entered.

"Why ever not?" Hermione asked, completely taken aback.

"You've got Muggle parents, right? They are non-magical," he said, elaborating after he saw her confused expression over the word 'Muggle.'

"Right," Hermione said slowly.

"Well, my father says you shouldn't be allowed any where near Hogwarts or Diagon Alley or any magical place for that matter," Draco said, looking much like the smirking sixteen-year-old Slytherin he would become.

Ron looked furiously at Draco. "How can you say that?" he demanded harshly. Apparently his quick temper had begun at a young age. "She's just as deserving as you to come here!"

"You're a Muggle-lover!" Draco screeched. "Muggle-lover! Muggle-lover!" he sang, dancing in a circle around the Exploding Snap cards. 

"Shut up!" Ron yelled, his face flushing. "Or, I'll…I'll…"

"You'll what, Weasley?" Draco asked, in a taunting tone.

"I'll turn you into a toad!"

Draco found this to be the funniest thing ever. He began to hysterically laugh and resumed his song and dance. Ron, his face and ears now bright red, was content with just screaming "Shut up!" and "Stop it!" profusely.

"What is the meaning of this?" a voice demanded coldly, stopping Draco in his tracks. 

"Umm, we were – uh…," Draco trailed off as he racked his brain for a likely story.

"That will be quite enough, Mr. Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said, her eyes narrowing. "I've come to collect you for a Potions lesson. Professor Snape is planning on informing the class exactly what went wrong with your potion and discussing the repercussions we will all be living with for a month. Now, come along."

Professor McGonagall's stern voice erased any form of protest the youngsters had even contemplated giving, and they quietly followed her to the dungeon, not making a peep.

"Now, behave yourselves," Professor McGonagall instructed as she opened the door to the Potions classroom and shooed them inside. Harry felt a pang of sadness as he saw her walk right back up the stairs, leaving him with the evil Professor Snape.

The four kids awkwardly stood in front of the closed door, unsure of what to do. 

"We don't have all day, children. Take a seat, now!" Professor Snape said, glaring at them. The kids quickly scampered for four seats in the back of the room. The further they were away from this grease ball, the better. 

"Today we will be discussing how three incompetent students can ruin the lives of others," Snape began. Neville Longbottom chose this moment to shakily raise his hand.

"What is it?" Snape hissed.

"Uh," Neville gulped. "Sir," he said, his voice quivering a bit. "I saw the whole thing happen and it wasn't Hermione, Ron, or Harry's fault. Draco Malfoy – " 

"Enough!" Snape bellowed, cutting poor Neville off. "Whose potion was it that exploded, Mr. Longbottom?"

"Well, Harry's. But –"

"And who had the Belladonna in hand, Mr. Longbottom?" Snape asked, shooting daggers from his eyes.

"Well, I think Hermione did, Sir, but – "

"And who couldn't hold his hand still enough to correctly take the Belladonna without dropping it all into the cauldron, Mr. Longbottom?"

"Ron, but – "

"So, doesn't it seem like it is the Heroic Trio's fault? I know it's difficult to comprehend that they don't belong in shrines, bestowed with gifts and medals from everyone, but let us try! They are at fault here! Now, may I continue my lesson, Mr. Longbottom?" Snape sneered.

"Ok," Neville squeaked.

"As I was saying," Snape continued, shooting one more glare in Neville's direction. "The excess Belladonna caused the potion to behave incorrectly. Instead of simply giving them childhood memories, they turned into children. I do hope you are all copying this down," Snape practically yelled.

The dungeons rustled with the flurry of parchment and quills hastily scratching notes down. Hermione pulled out her own quill and parchment, painstakingly writing. Ron and Draco exchanged exasperated glances, and then quickly looked away, horrified that for once, they actually agreed.

"The four specimens were pulled from their time period," Snape continued, not waiting for anyone to get their materials. "And placed into ours. Yet, they will not loose any time. Do you understand? When we see our Sixth Years, these children will have been placed right back where they were, no time lost. The children will not remember any of these occurrences. Yet, our Sixth Years are essentially still with us right now. They could not have switched into the children's time period because the spell was only performed from this end. So, their minds are locked inside these… children," Snape said, a look of disgust dominating his face as he said the word 'children.' "Our Sixth Years are in a sort of dream state. They are just watching, through the children's eyes, everything that is happening. They cannot prevent anything from happening or initiate anything. They are merely observers and the children don't even know they are in their minds. 

"Do, you mean our Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Malfoy will remember all of this?" Seamus asked, raising his hand.

"Very good, Mr. Finnigan. I'm glad to see at least one of the Gryffindors can understand the lesson," Professor Snape said, glaring as Neville was obviously struggling to write everything he said as well as absorb it mentally, failing miserably at both.

"So once the spell wears off, in approximately two to four weeks, our Sixth Years will recall everything that has happened to them as children. Also, the time it takes for one to revert to normal age is not necessarily the same for all. It could take Draco two weeks and Potter five. Now," Snape said, turning to the blackboard. "Here is a list of ingredients for the Enlarging Potion. Get to work. You four," Snape said, pointing to the kids in the back, all desperately trying to look like little angels with their hands folded on the table and attentive eyes watching Snape's every move. "Stay there and be quiet." The all nodded profusely, their little heads bobbing up and down.

The children sat there a full two minutes, not moving or talking before they became exceedingly bored. Ron began sighing extremely loudly and exaggeratedly. Draco leaned back in his chair and tapped the floor incessantly with his foot. Harry was hit with a sudden attack of the hiccups and spent most of his time trying to hiccup silently. And Hermione was concentrating hard on a drawing of a flower in the sunshine. 

Snape was only a couple tables a head of them when his head suddenly turned to face them.

"I thought I said to be quiet," he said in a threatening low tone.

"But, Sir," Hermione said. "We aren't even talking."

"You're still making too much noise. If you so much as breathe loudly, I'll have you in detention for the rest of your young lives."

The classroom suddenly became so quiet, you could hear a pin drop, when all of a sudden – 

"Hic!"

"Out!" Snape bellowed. "All four of you! And don't let me ever see you again."

The four kids didn't need to be told that twice. They practically flew out of the classroom, their faces as white as sheets. The dungeon door slammed behind them, the barred windows shaking madly.

"Wow," Harry said breathlessly once they had reached a safe amount of distance between them and the Potions class. "I hope we only – hic – have him as a teacher for one year."

"I'd prefer not to have him at all," Hermione said, shuddering slightly. "He gives me the creeps. And did you see how rude he was to Neville? He was only trying to stick up for us, after all. Snape didn't need to explode like that."

"Well, what are we going to do now?" Ron asked impatiently. 

"I think I'm Snape's favorite student," Draco bragged, ignoring Ron's question. "Did you see how he defending me when that fat kid tried to blame your clumsiness on me?"

"Don't call Neville fat!" Hermione screamed, standing face to face with Malfoy. 

"Don't tell me what to do!" Draco yelled back, just as violently.

"You're awful!" 

"Thank you."

Hermione gave up the vocal argument and turned her back on Malfoy. "What do you two want to play?" she asked, pointedly ignoring the blonde.

"Stop fighting," Harry said quietly. "Look. We're all in this together. It's us against all the adults and teens. We can't fight because we can only count on each other here. We don't have anyone else. So, truce?"

Hermione and Draco glared at each other for a few moments before Hermione sighed and put out her hand. "Truce."

Draco nodded and put his hand on top of hers, followed by Ron and finally Harry.

"Okay. To the Hogwarts Midgets!" Harry shouted.

They all giggled. "That's stupid," Draco said, but without malice in his voice. "We should be the Hogwarts Terrors!"

"No! We're the Potions Gone Wrong Young'uns!" Hermione yelled.

"Ewwww. No way," Ron said, wrinkling his nose. 

The four of them argued all the way back to the Gryffindor Common Room and found they couldn't agree on anything. And once they got in the Common Room, they couldn't decide what to play, opening an entirely new can of worms. 

"Hey! Want to play catch?" Hermione asked loudly, after vetoing Exploding Snap and Wizards Chess. 

"Sure!" Ron said. "Here! Catch!" He found an old glass ball on one of the tables and threw it to Hermione. This game lasted a few rounds until one of Ron's rather enthusiastic throws landed six feet to the right of Hermione.

_CRASH!_

"Oops!" Hermione said, looking at all the pieces on the floor.

"I didn't do it!" Ron said, a panicky note in his voice.

"It was you!"

"You're gonna be in trouble!"

"It wasn't me!"

"It was your idea!"

"You threw it!"

"You can't catch!"

A piercing scream tore across the Common Room, ending Ron and Hermione's feud. 

"My crystal ball! How could you!" Lavender Brown tore into the portrait hole and stared in disbelief at the million pieces that once made up her crystal ball.

"It was specially imported from India! Now how am I going to pass Divination with my ball in pieces? Professor Trelawney said to watch out for you four!" Lavender cried.

"We're sorry," Hermione said softly.

"Yeah," the boys chorused. 

"Just go to bed or something," she said. "I can't even look at you right now."

The four of them trooped upstairs. "You reckon she knows my mum?" Ron asked. "My mum says that all the time to me, Fred, and George."

"I don't know. I feel really bad though. Let's go quietly play something in your room," Hermione suggested.

"Okay."

And off they went, all hoping they wouldn't break anything else along the way.

~


End file.
